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Small cell for honey supers?

I use all deeps and have all my hives on 4.9 cell . .
Should i go with the same size when it comes to honey supers?
I did get some honey this year on these frames and it seem that they where not as thick as the large cell frames i have used before.
Now this past year was a build up year so all hives where working hard getting ready for there first winter building all the comb for there hives{14}.

Re: Small cell for honey supers?

As far as I'm concerned, the more small cell (brood size) comb I have the better. The reason is that brood sized comb can be used in either the brood chambers or in the supers. Larger cell super frames cannot be used effectively in the brood area if needed. I like to have that flexibility, especially for spring swarm management.

My exclusive honey supers are made up of frames pulled from the brood boxes that have too many drone cells built on foundationless frames. The honey does seem to extract a little easier from larger cells, but for me the advantage of having interchangeable frames outweighs the extra effort in extracting. If I want deeper cells in the supers I'll space out 9 drawn frames in a 10 frame box and they will draw the cells out deeper.

Re: Small cell for honey supers?

As much as I would hate managing deep supers (I would definitely not lift any that had honey in them) I think it's important to have all the same size frames in your operation. In mine they are mediums...

Re: Small cell for honey supers?

You don't really want elongated frames in the broodnest though do you, so once you spread them out in a honey super and if they get elongated, haven't you just turned them into honey frames only, or will the bees cut them back down to size? I think it would just make pushing frames together more difficult if you try rotating them back into brood areas and I thought larger cells were more efficient for honey storage.

Re: Small cell for honey supers?

Originally Posted by JRG13

You don't really want elongated frames in the broodnest though do you, so once you spread them out in a honey super and if they get elongated, haven't you just turned them into honey frames only, or will the bees cut them back down to size? I think it would just make pushing frames together more difficult if you try rotating them back into brood areas and I thought larger cells were more efficient for honey storage.

Typically, when you uncap the honey frames, they are not elongated anymore and could be used anywhere in the hive.

Re: Small cell for honey supers?

That's true rkereid for extracted frames (and I use a heat gun), but if you let bees overwinter on them I guess you'd still have to cut them back to size, just seems like an unnecessary step to me and be simpler to use dedicated frames for honey and just cycle out old brood frames every few years, render them down and start fresh.

Re: Small cell for honey supers?

Originally Posted by JRG13

That's true rkereid for extracted frames (and I use a heat gun), but if you let bees overwinter on them I guess you'd still have to cut them back to size, just seems like an unnecessary step to me and be simpler to use dedicated frames for honey and just cycle out old brood frames every few years, render them down and start fresh.

Yeah, if they stay on the hive in the 9 frame configuration, it would be a problem using them in a 10 frame box.

Re: Small cell for honey supers?

Originally Posted by Michael Bush

As much as I would hate managing deep supers (I would definitely not lift any that had honey in them) I think it's important to have all the same size frames in your operation. In mine they are mediums...

Re: Small cell for honey supers?

I have not drawn out any 4.9 foundation, but I have talked to fellows that have. They tell me its much harder to draw out 4.9.
So if that is true, why not struggle with 4.9 in the brood chambers to get it drawn right, and let the bees free to draw larger cell above the nest
Your supers will be separated anyway, and your honey will extract much easier in the long run

Most beekeepers who use 4.9 tell me they only use 4.9 for about 4-5 frames in the brood nest anyway because of the difficulty to draw it out. That said, most natural beehives will not draw out 4.9 out for the entire nest anyway.
So, if you follow your own logic, and want to provide the bees with more of a natural comb size, then in theory you should have a variety of cell sizes throughout the nest. Larger one more typically would of been used for honey storage

Re: Small cell for honey supers?

Our honey here is very thick, around 15-16% moisture. Its very hard to extract it from the small cell frames. The honey comes out of the larger cell frames no problem.
That's the only reason I don't use it in my honey supers.